Technical Field
Preferred embodiments relate to a bumper absorber structure.
Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (JP-A) No. 2014-198506 discloses a grille shutter structure for a vehicle. Specifically, the grille shutter structure is equipped with a bumper cover that is disposed on the vehicle front side, an air intake opening that is formed in the bumper cover and opens toward the vehicle front side, an air introduction path that delivers air entering from the air intake opening to a power unit compartment, and a grille shutter that is disposed on a vehicle rear side of the air introduction path. A guide frame portion is disposed on an outer peripheral edge portion of the grille shutter, and a flexible seal member is disposed on a front end of the guide frame portion.
In a case where the grille shutter is closed, the flow of air in the air introduction path is cut off, the air remains stationary in the air introduction path, and the air flowing from the vehicle front side pushes against the air in the air introduction path, so the pressure in the air introduction path increases. When the pressure increases, the seal member becomes deformed and comes into contact with a wall portion of the air introduction path, so the gap between the guide frame portion and the air introduction path disappears. Because of this, the air does not flow out from the air introduction path, so more air is prevented by the stationary air from being introduced into the air introduction path. As a result, the air outside the vehicle does not enter the air intake opening but flows along a surface of the bumper cover toward the vehicle rear side, so a drop in aerodynamic performance is prevented.
However, in the case of the configuration disclosed in JP-A No. 2014-198506, the vehicle upper side of the air introduction path is configured to include the bumper cover, a bumper absorber that is covered by the bumper cover and that is disposed spaced apart from the bumper cover, and a bumper reinforcement that is disposed on the vehicle rear side of the bumper absorber. For this reason, when the grille shutter becomes closed and the pressure in the air introduction path increases, there is a possibility for the air to flow out through the gap between the bumper cover and the bumper absorber. Because of this, the air does not remain stationary in the air introduction path, so the air outside the vehicle does not flow along the surface of the bumper cover toward the vehicle rear side but enters the air intake opening, which creates resistance, and the aerodynamic performance may drop. For this reason, the prior art described above has room for improvement in this respect.